DHARAMSALA, December 6 – Canadian legislators on Wednesday met with the new representative of the Dalai Lama for North America, Kaydor Aukatsang, on Parliament Hill to discuss ongoing repression in Tibet, which has seen 124 Tibetans self immolate since 2009.
Aukatsang briefed the legislators on the situation inside Tibet and the exile Tibetan administration’s (formerly Tibetan Government in exile) policies and priorities. He said the Tibetan side is making all efforts to resume the stalled talks with China about Tibet’s future and bringing about a genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within China.
MPs, who were part of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet, expressed their views in the House of Commons in the afternoon.
Conservative MP David Sweet, who attended the meeting with Aukatsang, drew attention to “the human rights tragedy” in Tibet. “Imagine what it must take to set oneself on fire as a means of protest,” he said.
“The circumstances are clearly getting worse, but we do not hear much about it because journalists are prevented from reporting from the Tibetan areas in China.”
Liberal MP Irwin Cotler said the fact that over 120 Tibetans have self-immolated is the ultimate cry of protest.
Tibetans’ non-violent pursuit of genuine autonomy, promised under the Chinese constitution, has been met with brutality, said Cotler.
“While Chinese President, Xi Jinping speaks of transparency and the rule of law, the repression of political dissent, the silencing of independent media, and the criminalization of innocent Tibetans [has] intensified.”
The MPs welcomed Tibetans resettled in Canada through the Tibetan Resettlement Project. However, NDP MP Peggy Nash was critical of the government for delays reuniting resettled Tibetans with loved ones, and blamed an inefficient immigration system. “Tibetans face religious and cultural oppression in their homeland,” said Nash.
